Grow Cook Inspire

In the next instalment of the Helen’s Heroines of Horticulture mini series, she speaks with Elle Hollingworth who is part of the RHS Shows Development team and is a show judge coordinator. However like so many women that Helen has interviewed a career in the world of horticulture had not always been on the cards for Elle. The global pandemic put the breaks on her travelling overseas and she had to return to her parents. Nevertheless returning home reignited a love for gardening and floral design and one thing led to another. Helen discusses with Elle her journey to the RHS, the women who inspire her and Elle also reveals an exciting new project she is working on in her local community in north London to help combat loneliness amongst the older residents where she lives. www.rhs.org.uk. Supported by Plank Bridge www.plank bridge.com. Be sure to subscribe to Grow Cook Inspire www.growcookinspire.com

Helen continues her summer mini series celebrating the Heroines of Horticulture, with her interview with the dynamic duo behind Caley Bros. Sisters Lorraine and Jodie join Helen on the podcast to discuss their journey to Chelsea, their heroines and how a family bereavement drove them to reassessing their career path. This change has resulted them growing mushrooms for a living and they made their mark at Chelsea this year by taking home a Gold medal. www.Caleybrothers.Co.uk. This special mini series has been supported by Plank Bridge, the pioneers behind the shepherd hut revival. To find out more visit www.plankpridge.com And be sure to subscribe to Grow Cook Inspire on whichever podcast platform you use. www.growcookinspire.com

In the third episode of this special mini series of Grow, Cook, Inspire, Helen is joined by the creative powerhouse Hazel Gardiner, founder of Hazel Gardiner Design, the London based floral design studio. We talk about her transition from the world of fashion journalism and the gruelling schedule of TV production and talent management to the world of floristry, after being diagnosed with a rare form of cancer. Hazel explains her drive and who influences her work as well as the challenges she has faced as being one of only a few black women in the industry. When she came onto the scene she couldn’t see many women who looked like her. This series of the podcast has been supported by Plank Bridge, the pioneers behind the shepherd’s hut revival in the UK. www.plankbridge.com Hazel Gardiner @hazelgardinerdesign & www.hazelgardinerdesign.com. Please do subscribe, share and review the podcast www.growcookinspire.com

Continuing this special Heroines of Horticulture podcast, Helen is joined by one one of her own heroines. In today’s show Helen talks with Jekka McVicar. From the dizzy heights of Glastonbury as part of a rock band, Jekka has been at the helm of the UK’s largest herb farm for almost 40 years, growing over 500 different culinary and medicinal varieties just outside of Bristol. With 62 gold RHS medals under her belt Jekka is not only a wealth of knowledge but a powerhouse for good. Generous with her time and expertise. She talks about her journey to setting up Jekka’s Herb Farm back in 1984, her determination to get ahead and be seen and the struggles so many UK growers are currently facing during these unprecedented times. Plus there is chat of a new book on the horizon. This series of the podcast has been generously supported by Plank Bridge, the pioneers behind the shepherds hut revival built in the UK. (www.plankbridgecom) Jekka’s Herb Fest will take place on the 30 June, 1 July & 2 July 2023. To find out more go to www.Jekkas.com. Please do subscribe to the podcast, review and share visit www.growcookinspire.com

Women have always gardened. However their journey into the professional realm of horticulture was turbulent. However there’s were huge numbers of pioneering women who have have left a lasting legacy. Some of them well known others less so and their stories buried in the fire notes of history. To kick off this special series of the podcast celebrating just some of the remarkable women who are making waves in the world of horticulture, Helen is joined by the author Fiona Davison who is also Head of Libraries & Exhibits at the RHS. Fiona shares a potted history about women and gardening and discusses the revelations she unearthed while writing her new book, An Almost Impossible Thing, The radical lives of Britains pioneering women gardeners. which will be published in September 5 2023 and is available to preorder now. https://tdy.lol/ZwHnL. To find out more about all RHS events & exhibits go to www.rhs.org.uk. Plank Bridge are the pioneers behind the shepherds hut revival, built in the UK www.plankbridge.com. To find out more about Helen’s work and new book go to www.growcookinspire.com

It has been well over two weeks since the dust has settled on the greatest show on earth. Now that the curtain rail has gone down for another year, Helen reflects on her highlights at this years prestigious event. She explores three of her favourite gardens; Harry Holdings School Food Matters garden, Camellia Taylor’s garden titled The Natural Affinity Garden for Aspens and Tayshan Hayden - Smith’s small but mighty garden Closing the Green Gap. You can find out more about each of these gardens by visiting www.rhs.org.uk 🌸🌻🌻. Plus on the back of the RHS’s Horticultural Heroines exhibit at this year’s show which celebrated just some of the inspirational women who have shaped the Horticultural industry, Helen reveals a new podcast series that is in the pipeline for the summer months ahead. If you don’t already please do subscribe to Grow, Cook, Inspire on which ever podcast platform provider you use, leave a review and share with a friend. 🙏. And to buy a copy of Helen’s new book head to www.growcookinspire.com.

In todays episode Helen highlights the final piece of the jigsaw as she concludes her special mini series looking at the charities which have been supported by Project Giving Back, giving them an opportunity to raise awareness about their cause at the worlds greatest flower show which gets underway next week. Helen speaks with the duo Nicola and Susan of Semple Begg who are designing their first Chelsea garden for the charity The Tea Pot Trust, a charity providing art therapy for children and young people with chronic illnesses and hidden conditions. The Tea Pot Trust Elsewhere Garden will be relocated to the Royal Hospital for Children in Glasgow after the show. Helen also interviews the charity’s CEO Sarah Randall, to find out more about the story behind The Tea Pot Trust, based in East Lothian in Scotland. To find more visit www.teapot-trust.org, www.semplebegg.com, www.rhs.org.uk. To find out about Helen’s new book and to order a copy and find out about her book tour go to www.growcookinspire.com

In today’s episode I speak with the founder and Chief Executive of School Food Matters, Stephanie Slater and garden designer Harry Holding. Harry is designing a garden for the charity School Food Matters, which will be on show at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show in May putting the charity on the map and sparking a conversation about the necessity not only to provide healthy and nutritious school meals to all children across the UK but also the need to educate children about food, and the environment around them. Something we talk about a lot about on this podcast. www.rhs.org.uk www.projectgivingback.org www.school food matters.org. www.Harryholding.co.uk Plus Helen’s debut book Grow Cook Inspire, is due to be released on Thursday 20 April find out more about her first book what inspired it. You can preorder direct by going to www.growcookinspire.com 🌸🙏💚

In today’s episode Helen learns more about the charity Aspens and their garden, supported by Project Giving Back,which will be showcased at this year’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show. She speaks with the garden designer Camellia Taylor and Aspens Head of fundraising Susan Sawyer, to learn more about how the Chelsea garden will help raise awareness around the work Aspens does supporting people with autism and learning disabilities and the long lasting legacy the garden will have once relocated to Aspens following Chelsea. 🪴 www.aspens.org.uk 🪴 www.thegardentaylor.com. Plus Helen heads to Ayrshire to meet with Katrina aka @buildingafoodforest_scotland on Instagram and as featured on BBC’s Beechgrove Garden. Katrina home educates Clayton her 15 year old son who is autistic and non verbal. Their garden has become a classroom which has allowed Clayton to flourish and learn in a way that makes him feel comfortable and grounded.

In the first episode of a new mini series, leading up to the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, which kicks off in May, Helen speaks with the CEO of the charity organisation, Project Giving Back, Hattie Ghaui. They discuss the main drive of Project Giving Back to create gardens for good causes, which will have a lasting legacy following the prestigious event, the charities involved and what are the plans beyond 2024. To find out more about Project Giving Back visit www.projectgivingback.org.uk and to find out more about the RHS visit www.rhs.org.uk. 🪴Please do subscribe, share and review the podcast and to find out more about Helen go to her new website www.growcookinspire.com

In today’s episode Helen has headed down to London on the back of ‘turnip’ gate to visit a pioneering food and growing up in central London. Helen talks with Tom Walk, chef and food educator to find out more about The Hackney Food of School, which was established in 2019 by the LEAP Federation of Schools and with the support of the charity Chefs in Schools. With its own kitchen garden, bees and chicken, the school offers an immersive experience in growing and cooking real food. www.Hackneyschooloffood.com Plus Helen reveals more about the brand new Chefs in Schools Tool Kit, which has just launched. This brand new tool kit, which is free to download, will help schools snd communities to create their very own food education hubs up and down the country. www.chefs in schools.org.uk If you enjoyed listening to today’s episode please do subscribe, share and review and check out Helen’s new website over at www.growcookinspire.com 💚🪴🌸

After a short break Helen is back from her half term vacation. This week she interviews founder of Urban Herbs, Andrew Perry. Andrew has been on the show before but is back with news of a new book and much more. She and Andrew talk about the growth of the business, digging up his front garden to grow food and how to reach out to a new audience. His debut book The Herb Gardening Handbook will be published on March the 30th. For more information visit www.urban-herbs.co.uk Plus on the garden and food edit Helen shares some news about Real Bread Week and the first Scottish Real Bread Festival, taking place at Bowhouse in Fife. Www.sustainweb.org & scotlandthebread.org. Helen also reveals the faces behind the Guardian’s new gardening column and sweet peas are being sown, with hopes of towering flowering tee pees all summer long.

This week marks Children’s Mental Health Week organised by the charity Place2Be. In this weeks episode of Grow Cook Inspire, Helen shares why gardening can have a positive impact on the mental health of children and young people. She also shares ways to incorporate ways to make your garden good for your well-being as well as news of a new RHS wellbeing training course for teachers. Plus Helen interviews gardener, author and master of no dig gardening Charles Dowding about his new book ‘No Dig Gardening for Children’ which provides fun, practical and accessible ideas to get children growing and gardening. And to celebrate the release of this new book she will be running a giveaway over on her Instagram page @grow_cook_inspire, on Thursday the 9 Feb to win a copy of the book.💚📚🍃. https://charlesdowding.co.uk/. https://www.amazon.co.uk/RHS-Your-Wellbeing-Garden-Practice/dp/0241386721/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?adgrpid=92813774093&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIr-6Hr-CG_QIVCZntCh3migI2EAAYASAAEgL8w_D_BwE&hvadid=415308057759&hvdev=m&hvlocphy=1007336&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=12875233096161618508&hvtargid=kwd-777165290358&hydadcr=2532_1795130&keywords=rhs+your+wellbeing+garden&qid=1675887751&sr=8-1 https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/roots-to-wellbeing-tickets-515008984737. https://www.place2be.org.uk

In this week’s episode Helen interviews the award winning journalist, author & gardener Kim Stoddart about her new book she has written with Sally Morgan, The Climate Change Garden. We discuss how the book evolved from her own experiences of climate change and the impact it has had on her own garden. The book provides guidance and help to garden with nature in mind, and provides hope for resilient and productive gardens as well as ways to tackle eco anxiety amongst children. 🪴 https://climatechangegarden.uk. The Garden Edit - Helen shares her top tips for planet friendly gardening, there is news of another new book called the Resilient Garden from the award winning designer Tom Masey out on the 6th of April 📚 https://www.waterstones.com/book/rhs-resilient-garden/tom-massey/9780241575833 Plus check out Harriet Plants if you want to find out more about peat free houseplants in the UK 🪴 www.harrietsplants.Co.uk

Have you ever questioned why you garden and grow things? What drives you? What makes you keep returning to the soil year after year? Well, author and journalist Alice Vincent has pondered this and has been on a search for answers to discover more about why women in particular garden. In today’s show Helen talks to Alice about her third book Why Women Grow, as well as the creation of her debut podcast which is by the same name. ( 🪴 www.Alicevincent.co.uk) 📚 Plus Helen shares her top picks of new Cookery and gardening books, which have caught her eye this week (What’s for dinner? By Sarah Rossie, How to Grow a Herb Garden by Andrew Perry, The Flowerpot Forager by Stuart Overdon and A Year Full of Veg by Sarah Raven. 🌸 Finally there is also a reminder that snow drop season is upon us. You can find inspiration for walks from rhs.org.uk and also ngs.org.uk and scotlandsgardens.org.uk

With Valentines Day just around the corner, Helen takes a look at just how sustainable our love for roses at this time of year really is and she also delves a little deeper into the UK’s flourishing cut flower market. This week Helen is joined by flower farmers Marianne Mogendorff & Camila Romain, who are behind Wolves Lane Flower Company in North London and they are also the authors of How To Grow The Flowers, as well as Rachel Masterton of The Pretty Wild Flower Company in Dumfries and Galloway. Helen discusses with all three their pathway to flower farming, the highs and lows as well as their alternatives to roses for Valentines Day and how they are working to make wedding flowers more sustainable too. Please do subscribe, share and review the podcast. 🌸Www.wolveslaneflowercompany.com 🌸www.theprettywildflowerco.com. 🌸www.flowersfromthefarm.Co.uk. 🌸www.flowersgrowninscotland.Co.uk

Hello and a very happy New Year and welcome back to Grow Cook Inspire. This week we are celebrating National House Plant Week, timely as outside is grim, dark and wet. This week Helen here’s from some friends of the podcast who share with us what they love about houseplants. Plus Helen interviews Sarah Gerrard Jones, author of the Plant Rescuer and all round houseplant saviour 🪴 @theplantrescurer. And she also speaks with Tik Tok & terrarium sensation Ben Newall 🪴 @worcesterterrariums. Plus we hear about two exciting garden design competitions taking place at this years Scone Garden Fair and the RHS Hampton Court Garden Festival. If that’s not all, we’ve got a timely reminder to sign up to sign up to this year’s RSPB Big Garden Bird Watch. All the details are below… ⬇️ www.rspb.org.uk 💚 www.rhs.org.uk. 💚www.scone-Palace.Co.uk

To round up 2022 I bring you a bonus winter episode of the podcast. I’m joined by Beechgrove presenter and primary teacher Lizzie Schofield. We talk about coastal gardening on the north east of Scotland, willow weaving & being crowned Gardeners World Garden of the year. 💚 Instagram @cuthbertsbrae_garden Plus I share my top reads for 2022 and a recipe for carrot and almond cake which won’t last long! And finally a huge well done to Niall McCauley who won the Alan Titchmarsh New Talent of the Year Award at this years Gardening Media Awards. You can follow Niall on Instagram @niallgardens and be sure to subscribe to his you tube channel. One to watch for sure. 💚

Today’s episode is the finale of series 5. I talk with the creative force that is Victoria the talent behind the Instagram account Sprout Surrey (💚 Instagram @sprout.Surrey) From studying fashion design to working in the world of PR in London, Victoria found herself longing for her green leafy roots, back home in Surrey. Like many people over the last two years Victoria has gone back to school to learn more about her number one passion in life, gardening. Settle form and grab a cuppa. I could have chatted to Victoria for hours. Apologies for the tech mishap!

In today’s show I meet and talk with former ballet dancer and now dance teacher and gardening writer, Andy Peasgood. We talk about his phenomenal career, and how he has found a new creative release in gardening. Having recently moved into a new build estate in Glasgow he has transformed what is a very modest space into a haven for plants and wildlife. It just goes to show you don’t need acres of land to be green fingered. You can chart Andy’s garden adventures on his Instagram account @andypeasgood 💚 Supported by Plant Grow UK.